Currently, in known fire alarm systems it is necessary to have an operator monitor a fire panel or a monitoring workstation during fire alarm system walk-test, commissioning, inspection, and servicing. The operator relays fire alarm events to field technicians. If the field technicians want to acknowledge events or send commands to the fire network. Usually this can only be done by relaying the commands to the operator at the panel or the monitoring workstation. Relaying messages can cause confusion and add additional time to the whole process.
Additionally, there is no easy way for remote service technicians to view the status of the fire alarm system upon receiving a service call. Moreover, once at the site, the technicians still have to coordinate with an operator to assist in relaying system messages and issuing commands to the fire alarm system.
There is thus a continuing need for low cost and easy to use systems that can eliminate the need for an operator to monitor a fire panel or a monitoring workstation. Also, it would be preferable if such systems are compatible with existing infrastructure.